


Lost in Time

by moonstoneclone



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Asexual Character, Clones, Gray Jedi, LMAO, No pairing - Freeform, Other, Star Wars - Freeform, finish the clone wars, unless you really want there to be?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-08
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-05-19 15:11:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14876136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonstoneclone/pseuds/moonstoneclone
Summary: AKA "if Disney can make Star Wars spin-offs then why can't I"OC Jem Antilles is the Green Leader of the Rebel Alliance, friend of Ahsoka Tano and Luke Skywalker (because I'm pretty sure Ahsoka knew Luke and you can fight me on that). Then, with a flash of white, Jem is thrown into a space battle in the Sullust System. When is she and how the heck does she get out?





	1. 6 easy steps to increase the size of your pension

**Author's Note:**

  * For [me](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=me).



> Hey ghouls, it's me. Ya boy.
> 
> I'm literally only writing this for my own amusement so if you hate it.... cool. If you feel like sending me hate mail, I will most likely reply with the dramatic reading of My Immortal that's on Youtube bc that shit's good. If you actually enjoy this fanfic, I'm glad you think my fever dream was as entertaining as I thought it was.  
>  
> 
> As always, I do not own STAR WARS or any of its characters.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just an intro/background to the character. If you don't care just skip this chapter.

ABOUT

Full Name: Jem Antilles

Age: 27 standard years

Gender: Female

Species: Human-Sephi Hybrid

Home world: Corellia

Marital Status: Single

Alignment: Neutral

Height: 5’8”

Affiliations: Alliance to Restore the Republic (Rebel Alliance), Gray Jedi

Style of Fighting: Jar’Kai, Form 6

 

* * *

 

Jem Antilles is a naturally strong Force user and a proficient duelist that wields yellow-bladed twin sabers in combat. She has a degree of talent as a military commander and pilot, managing to aid the Rebel Alliance at the Battle of Scarif.

Jem is a Human-Sephi hybrid born in the mountains of Corellia near the city of Doaba Guerfel. Her mother is human and her father is Sephi, and she has no siblings. Her father’s company mines crystals for the Republic and eventually for the Galactic Empire, and her mother is an airspeeder pilot in Doaba Guerfel. When first learning she was force-sensitive, her parents sent her to the academy on Corellia to train, where she learned basic force techniques and the art of Force healing. After the fall of the Republic reached Corellia, she returned home and continued training on her own. It was here that she specialized in Force Light, Force concealment, and mastered the Universal powers.

At the age of 18 (6 BBY) Jem became a Freelance pilot and a mechanic at the Doaba Guerfel starport, where she eventually purchased her astromech, R3-J5 (male programming, painted in sky blue with mint green details). During one of her flight expeditions, Jem met Jensaarai members and they gave her advice and taught her the philosophy and practices, such as ballistakinesis and some dark sided powers, for payment for transport to the Suarbi system. It was here that Jem learned that the Force is not inherently good or evil, but the wielder that makes it so.

When visiting her father’s mines one day, she discovered two kaiburr crystals and proceeded to hand-assemble twin lightsabers. Once activating them, she was surprised to find that they were yellow, and not the blue that she had in the academy.

She joined the Corellian Resistance with her father when they acted against slavery operations, and she helped attack Imperials outposts near the mountains. She met Ahsoka Tano when the Corellian resistance joined other groups to form the Rebel Alliance, and the two instantly hit it off. She quickly rose to the rank of Commander and led the Green Squadron in escorting supplies, and she also took part in the Battle of Scarif at the age of 24. She became great friends with the other starfighter unit commanders, including Luke Skywalker. Jem helped Luke in his training whenever she could, teaching him basic lightsaber techniques and core Force powers.

Normally the Sephi species take on a purple or pink skin tone, but since Jem is a hybrid she has light ivory skin with the pink sheen of a Sephi. She has amber eyes and her heart-shaped face is encompassed by white hair that is typically styled into a sloppy low bun. Her ears are long and pointed like the Sephi. She is taller than the average human female.

Since she has been in hiding her abilities from the Empire, Jem carries two retractable charged batons and one small blaster pistol to blend in.

As the Commander of a starfighter squadron, she wears the typical orange jumpsuit and white helmet. Her everyday clothes typically consist of all black with a moss-green vest, and a white belt to hold her batons, and a thigh holster for her blaster pistol. She hides her lightsabers in her vest. If ever on ground assault, Jem wears thigh-length light gray robes, dark gray high-collared under shirt with dark gray pants tucked into black knee-high boots. A black belt holds two packs in the back, her lightsabers, and her batons. Armor consists of white gauntlets, shoulder pads, chest plate, and knee guards that are made entirely of cortosis (resistant to blaster and lightsaber attacks). All are detailed with silver markings like a Vulptex.


	2. Can’t wait to tell this story to my grandchildren

**Battle of Hoth. 3 ABY.**

“R-three, can we make that jump to hyperspace yet?! It’s getting a bit warm out here,” Commander Jem Antilles shouted to her astromech, the beeping and whirring engines of her X-Wing fighter almost drowning her out. R3-J5 beeped frantically, alerting her that the hyperspace capacitor was destroyed, leaving them helpless as the Imperial fleet destroys what’s left of the air support the Rebellion has. The fighter jerks as Jem dodges another tie-fighter and whips around to attack. She calls out to her squadron but transmissions were left unanswered as the Green Squadron was slowly destroyed. She could only watch as the Imperial Navy takes down her men one by one until only she remained.

Condensation began to build up on her visor as the white-haired woman avoided oncoming attacks from the Imperial fighters. Jem ripped off her helmet, messing up her bun, and wiped the droplets quickly, only to drop her helmet and grab the control wheel, swerving to avoid a head-on collision with an enemy tie fighter. Cursing, she sprays the area with blaster fire and nose-dives towards the atmosphere of Hoth. Noticing the AT-AT Walkers nearing the Rebel base, the pilot speeds towards the Walkers and starts attacking from the air.

Jem manages to shove her helmet back on. “R-three, see if you can patch us in to communicate with the other troops.” Quickly connecting, Jem hears the whoops and hollers from the ground troops. Commander Skywalker recites their plan to take down the Imperial Walkers, and Jem hums in approval and begins her attack with the rest of the pilots. They all cheered once the first one fell and Skywalker took down the second one on foot.

“Fox, can you distract the walkers so they can evacuate the rest of the base?”

Jem smiles at the nickname from Skywalker. “I’ll do it. Vader is coming and we don’t need to lose any more men. I’ve already lost all of mine today.” Skywalker agrees solemnly before R2-D2 appears with his ship. Jem smiles at the droid. “Take good care of him on Dagobah, R-two. He doesn’t know what he’s getting himself in to.”

The female Commander hears her friend laugh in reply before he takes off. She zips around the remaining walkers, using the towing cables and copying the technique of the other fighters. Another walker falls quickly to the relief of the pilot. A blast is heard and the Commander realizes too late that one of the walkers had destroyed the power generator. She sees the Millennium Falcon take off in the distance and feels that the rest of Skywalker’s group is safe. Jem takes down the last Imperial walker and turns to make for the rendezvous point, going max speed since she couldn’t make the jump to lightspeed (much to her frustration).

Once she’s into space, however, she meets a squadron of Imperial fighters. Realizing she probably wasn’t going to make it out alive, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, letting the Force flow through her before opening her eyes. With the determination of bringing a few down with her, she spins left to avoid heavy fire and dives to try to get underneath them, and then flanks right. R-three screams as a stray shot hit near him, smoke coming off the right wing. The woman apologizes to the astromech as she shoots down two fighters and speeds past a star destroyer with the squadron bearing down on her. She closed her eyes, letting her thoughts clear and repeated:

_The Force is all things, and I am the Force. The Force is all things, and I am the Force._

Suddenly, everything seemed to slow down, like the ship was about to make the jump into hyperspace. There was a bright, blue light and she shielded her eyes with an arm. The ship jerked and there was a small moment of complete silence before blaster fire was all around her again. The Corellian Commander lowered her arm and gaped at the scene before her.

Different battle cruisers and fighters flew past her, attacking each other, neither side baring the Rebel Alliance insignia on the hulls. Ships that resembled Imperial star destroyers loomed near her, and she swerved quickly to avoid them. Black ships with red eyes shoot past her, and she turns around in her seat and is shocked to find that Hoth isn’t even behind her anymore. She was in a whole different sector of the galaxy. Another jerk of the ship leads her to realize that the blast from earlier must have severely damaged her right wing, and R-three begins his repairs.

“R-three, I’m going to land in one of those hangars that aren’t on those star destroyers. Maybe we can steal another ship to blend in.” R-three lets out a series of beeps, alarmed at the decision his commander made. “I know it’s dangerous, R-three, but staying out here with a ship that doesn’t belong draws attention, and the capacitor doesn’t work. We need an out.”

Without another word, Jem pilots the smoking craft towards an open hangar. Another shot hits the right wing and R-three yells that the landing sequence is fried. The ship starts trying to spin out of control, but Jem steadies it, praying that they will make it to the hangar in one piece.

Only 60 meters to go.

“Hang on, buddy!”

The scraping of metal against metal is deafening as sparks fly from the bottom of the ship when the artificial gravity brings the ship down. The ship’s parachute is deployed to slow the momentum as the fighter skids. Jem brings an arm across her face when the windscreen cracks, but she could feel the ship hitting smaller objects in her land. She hoped they weren’t people. She suddenly feels Force-wielders around her and quickly hides her presence within the Force. She makes two Jedi and one Sith, most likely battling within the hangar itself. Waves of anger and betrayal radiated off the Sith. The Gray Jedi was surprised to feel anger from one of the Jedi as well. As the ship finally came to a halt, the pilot checked on R-three, who seemed to be fine, and slowly opened the cockpit, blaster at the ready.

She was greeted with ancient pre-Empire droids surrounding the ship. There was an awkward moment of silence as the two parties stared at each other. Then one asked for her identification. Jem quickly Force-jumped onto a balcony and shot the droids down without a word.

The commotion had gotten the attention of the calmer Jedi, who quickly whipped around at the shots. He spots a pilot with a bright orange jumpsuit and white helmet on a balcony, shooting at droids from above their ship. The pilot quickly looks around and spies the empty shuttle near the Jedi battle and makes her way towards it. He turns his attention back to the fight with the Sith, keeping an eye on the newcomer, blue lightsaber flashing.

Jem keeps an eye out for more enemy droids as she walks along the balcony to a ship that looked unharmed. Into her comm, she orders R-three to get out of the fighter and come to the ship in the back of the hangar, and to avoid the fighting. R-three confirms her orders, and she turns around to quickly retreat to her ship for her supplies. After gathering her pack holding her clothes, weapons, and rations, she sprints towards the shuttle in the back of the hangar, avoiding enemy droids and the trio still in combat. Hearing an angry yell, Jem quickly turns around on the shuttle ramp, to find the Sith lashing out and Force-choking the two Jedi. From a distance, she notices a Jedi watching her, waiting for her to make a move. Jem swears under her breath and pulls her blaster out and shoots the Sith in the back of the thigh, causing her to fall onto one knee and drop her victims. Jem sprints up the ramp of the shuttle as the Sith’s head turns to search for her attacker; Jem hopes that R-three has already started the take-off sequence. The battle cruiser lurches, and the hangar starts crumbling around her as she yells for the astromech to take off. The droid complies and the ship shoots towards the opening. She watches from the shuttle cockpit as her Correlian-green star fighter is crushed as the hangar collapses in on itself, her heart constricting as a little piece of her home is destroyed.

Almost as soon as the shuttle escapes the hangar, the entire battle cruiser is engulfed in flames. Jem sees that three other ships have made it out as well, two heading towards the fleet of older Star Destroyers, and one immediately jumping into hyperspace to flee from the battle. She quickly sets a course for Hoth as soon as she notices the battle coming to an end. As the coordinates were set and all things clear, she pulls the lever to make their escape.

Nothing.

The shuttle shakes a little, and Jem finds, much to her dismay, that they were trapped in a tractor beam coming from a star destroyer. She quickly orders R-three to hide as she grabs all weapons as the ship continues its trajectory into the destroyer. Two lightsabers on each side? Check. Batons in her uniform pants pocket? Check. She decides to keep her helmet on to hide her identity from her assailants, stuffing any stray hairs into her helmet. She finds issue-grade grenades in a compartment, and takes them for her defense, along with some smoke screen grenades. She feels multiple Force-wielding presences again and she once again hides herself within the Force.

As the shuttle begins to enter the hangar, Jem recalls that the Sith and the Jedi seemed familiar, but she had no idea why. The Rebel commander feels like she’s missing something important, but is quickly thrown from her thoughts as the shuttle has landed and the unknown enemy has begun their siege of the ship. R-three beeps quietly, informing her that they are about to open the shuttle ramp. Jem lets out a quiet breath and pulls two grenades from her pack as the ramp begins its descent. Activating them, she quickly threw them out before the ramp is completely lowered, and heard the enemy scatter. The grenades detonated, throwing Jem into the windshield of the cockpit and effectively knocking the wind out of her. She quickly activated a smoke grenade to hide her location as four stormtroopers ran into the shuttle. She knocked two to the ground and threw another grenade out of the ship to clear a path for her fake exit.

In her fight with the other two she noticed that they wore old helmets that resembled Republic—no, that can’t be right. Effectively knocking the remaining two unconscious, she prepared for the grenade to go off again, this time using the Force to keep her position. Turning to shield her eyes from the blast, she saw through the windshield that troopers were surrounding the shuttle and that the hangar door was closing, stacking the odds against her escape. Looking up, she noticed a hatch in the shuttle to the second floor and promptly climbed through. She commed to R-three to get to the cockpit and start firing on the stormtroopers and she would find a way to reopen the hangar. R-three came out of hiding and began his distraction as Jem drew a lightsaber and cut a hole in the roof.

Climbing out and crouching on the roof, she was slightly relieved that no one has noticed her and were concentrating on R-three’s distraction. She wondered where the Jedi from before were but ignored the thought. There was a higher probability of escape without them present. The Corellian found the control box on the second floor encased in glass, and set off smoke bombs around the ship to completely hide the shuttle as she vaulted off the ship and sprinted towards the control box. She felt the two Jedi as they entered the hangar, to her dismay, but the alarm they felt was almost comical. Jem could only imagine what this looked like. Her thoughts faltered when she wondered why two Jedi were working with stormtroopers, the people that wiped them out. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she stared up at the glass-encased control booth and, holding out a hand, and shattered the glass.

Taking down the guards and the staff was the easy part; figuring out which one controlled the hangar doors was the difficult part, and she didn’t have time because Jem knew the Jedi were probably on their way to her location. She quickly started pressing buttons, one closing the control box doors, locking her inside. The Commander finally found a series of buttons for a door and proceeded to jab at those.

A lightsaber was heard and then the door was being cut into. She only had a few seconds left.

The hangar doors started to open and she set off her last smoke bomb right as the hole in the door burst open. Jem quickly scrambled onto the dashboard and jumped out the window onto the hangar floor below. Her feet hit the ground and she rolled once and stopped, one knee on the ground. Commander Skywalker would have rolled his eyes and called her out on her “superhero landing” shenanigans. The rebel looked up from the ground to find a green lightsaber in her face and a young Togruta glaring menacingly down at her.

“You’re surrounded. Give it up.”

Jem blinked in surprise at the girl. She looked exactly like… “Ahsoka?” _That can’t be right… she’s just a kid._

The Togruta looked taken aback and hesitated. Using her falter, Jem kicked the legs out from under the girl, knocking her on her back. The pilot immediately stood up only to realize that she was surrounded by stormtroopers with blasters targeted at her. Recognizing her defeat, she slowly raised her hands in the air as the soldiers converged on her, gathering her weapons and pack and placing binders on her wrists. She identified the other two Jedi watching from a distance. She was forced onto her knees in front of them.

The man on the right had shaggy brown hair and a scar on his right eye. His arms were crossed as he stared down at Jem with a smug look on his face. The Ahsoka look-alike walked up next to him and glared at the new prisoner. “Who is this, Master?”

“I don’t know, Snips, but we will find out soon what she wants.”

 _Master? Snips? If that really is Ahsoka, then that means that guy is—no. This isn’t possible._ Jem remained silent as she studied the two.

“I think she should see the council, don’t you?” An accented voice made her head turn to the other Jedi, almost forgetting that he was present. She recognized that face immediately, her jaw dropping at she blatantly stared at the auburn-haired man. Obi-Wan Kenobi. The data holograms didn’t do him justice.

The smug expressed flew off the scarred man’s lips as he gaped at the bearded man. “What, why? She has attacked our troops, almost blown up our ship, has also attacked my Padawan, and you think she should visit the council?!”

The gray eyed man looked up from the woman to his friend. “She’s a Jedi, didn’t you notice? You need to be more observant, Anakin.” He looked back down to the pilot and was confused to find her staring dumbly at all three of them before his attention returned to his former Padawan as they began arguing.

A small bleep from her comm signaled that R-three had found another ship and was ready to leave. The three were still arguing and didn’t notice the noise. Snapping out of her reverie, she counted two men on each side of her out of her periphery. Slowly as to not catch any attention, she slid the binders off and gathered herself for her attack. Using the Force, she pushed everyone around her, including the Jedi, away from where she kneeled. She sprang up and started running towards the fighter that R-three had confiscated. She summoned her weapons as she took down a trooper that had taken her backpack of supplies. Just as two sabers reached her hands, she whipped around to find a flash of blue coming right at her and she blocked it with one of her sabers. Anakin Skywalker’s face glowed as he bared down on her, gritting his teeth.

The other two Jedi circled around her and the other Skywalker, blades out. Kenobi spoke as he watched the pilot. “My dear, escaping clearly isn’t working for you, and we don’t really have the time to be expending ourselves like this.”

Jem’s mouth quirked up. “I don’t know, I thought I was doing pretty well so far.” In her periphery she saw her shuttle’s wing break off and crash onto the floor in a pile of smoke. She winced as she heard Kenobi chuckle from behind her. She wished she wasn’t still wearing the helmet so she could see better. Jem saw the corner of Anakin’s mouth lift.

She heard a growl from the side, the sound of a lightsaber swing towards her, an “Ahsoka, no!” and she activated her twin saber to block the other attack. Now she was in a standoff with both Skywalker and Tano. Today’s events had put a strain on her, and her arms were starting to shake under the pressure of the two Jedi’s body weights. Jem had to reposition her stance as the two slowly pushed forward. Over Skywalker’s comm link, she heard that they had captured R-three and asked permission to take him apart. Jem quickly tried to reason with Anakin. “I’ll surrender if you leave my droid alone. Please!” Surprised from her panicked outburst, Anakin gave a nod to Tano and both stepped back but kept their sabers on. Jem deactivated hers and gave them to Kenobi along with her batons, blaster, and comlink. Kenobi wordlessly took them and guided her towards some guards to be taken to the detention block, giving her weapons to a guard.

“Make sure R-three is okay, yeah? He’s the only one I have left.”

Kenobi gave her a look but nodded all the same.

The three Jedi watched as the pilot was surrounded by a squadron, and was marched towards an awaiting cell. General Kenobi looked at his former Padawan. “She seems to be like you, with a fondness of droids and with a lot of the same recklessness. I believe she could be a very useful ally in this war, since she almost obliterated a quarter of our Forces alone.”

General Skywalker rolled his eyes. “She killed our troops. She’s no ally to the Republic.”

“But she also killed droids when we were fighting Ventress, and she did save us back there.” Kenobi stroked his beard in thought.

“Maybe she’s a Bounty Hunter?”

Ahsoka piped up. “She had lightsabers, and yellow ones at that, so I don’t think she’s a Bounty Hunter.” She was silent a moment before she continued “she said my name like she knew me, which was weird because I have never met her before in my life…”

Kenobi raised his eyebrows and stroked his beard with a gloved hand. “Now that _is_ odd. Let’s see if we can find any information about her on our way to Coruscant.” The other two Jedi nod as the trio heads toward the bridge.

After hours of pouring through databases, the three Jedi could not find a single trace of the strange Jedi anywhere. Obi-Wan was skimming through a history of rebel groups when Ahsoka gave an exasperated groan and face-planted on the table. “There’s nothing about this girl anywhere! Can’t we just go and ask her ourselves? It would save us _some_ time and energy.”

Anakin glanced up from his data pad and gave a pointed look to his former master. “She’s right, you know. I feel like she is willing to give us the information we want, with some persuasion. We still have her droid in custody, you know…” Obi-Wan glares at him and Anakin puts his hands up. “It was just a suggestion! I wasn’t completely serious. Ahsoka could use the practice with interrogation techniques.” Ahsoka, with a grin, jumps up from her chair and follows her master towards the door. Obi-Wan shakes his head with a sigh and proceeds to follow the duo to help with the investigation, letting the admiral know that he has the bridge before exiting.

* * *

 

The pilot’s grief hit the three Jedi like a freight when they stepped into the detention block, and the feeling grew heavier when they approached her cell. Even the clones that were guarding her felt uneasy, and were almost joyous when they were relieved from duty. One soldier mumbled about her being completely silent before rushing off. Anakin and Obi-Wan glanced at each other before walking towards the cell. Anakin cleared his throat.

The pilot was hunched on the bench, her face in her hands. Her hair was loosely held in a low bun, but stray hairs had escaped. She was still wearing the bright orange uniform and the helmet she had been wearing was beside her. She righted herself at the noise, pretending to be unbothered. Obi-Wan felt the grief in the Force completely masked, and he made a note that she was an avid Force user. He watched as she slowly stood and approached the plasma barrier.

She clasped her hands behind her back, her amber eyes alert. “What do I owe the pleasure, gentlemen,” she nodded toward Ahsoka, “and lady?”

Ahsoka looked up at her master as he crossed his arms. He began his interrogation. “Who are you?”

The pilot saluted quickly and stated. “Commander Jem Antilles, Green Leader of the Rebel Alliance.”

“Rebel Alliance? Of what? Who are you rebelling against?” Anakin placed his hands on his hips and gave his Padawan a look when she mumbled something about the rank.

One of Jem’s ears twitched as she replied, leaning next to the barrier, “The Galactic Empire, of course.”

Obi-Wan stepped forward. “There is no such thing as the Galactic Empire here. Where, exactly, are you from?” The Commander stared at him with her eyebrows raised. She cautiously backed away from the door with her arms in front of her, her eyes quickly filling with panic.

Reaching the back of her cell, she quickly looked between the three of them. “It’s exactly what I suspected. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t answer any more of your questions. Something could go wrong. Oh, my stars, this can’t be happening. _You_ shouldn’t be here. _I_ shouldn’t be here.” The Jedi gaped at her as she trailed off and started pacing in her cell, muttering incoherently. They caught a few words such as “Hoth”, “time-jump”, and “must be Vader’s doing” before she froze. Then the pilot ran towards the barrier and the Jedi quickly backed away.

She put her hands on either side of the walls, eyes drilling holes into Ahsoka for answers. “Where are we going, General?”

The Padawan coughed nervously and Anakin moved to stand in front of her. He stared menacingly at their prisoner before he answered. “We’re heading to Coruscant to bring you before the council. They will decide your fate, Jedi. And do not speak to my _Commander_ that way.”

At his emphasized words brought the pilot into more mumbling, and Obi-Wan caught the phrase “the Order” this time and decided to bookmark that for later. She looked back up at them and nodded before returning to her bench. Obi-Wan murmured “You’ve lost someone, haven’t you?”

Jem let out a breathy chuckle before carding a hand through her messy hair and leaning back against the wall to stare at the ceiling. “I’ve lost everyone.” The Force was once again stifling with grief. She didn’t say anymore and Kenobi quietly ushered the other two Jedi back to the bridge.


	3. The boys are here

They (surprisingly) made it to Coruscant without a hitch. General Windu and General Koon met them at the loading dock when they arrived. They watched with interest as a squadron squeezed out of the ship, led by the three Jedi, Commander Cody, and Captain Rex. The clones towered over their prisoner, who stood in the middle of the squad with Force binders on her wrists. Windu raised an eyebrow as Kenobi and Skywalker approached, gesturing to the group. “Is the full squad really necessary?”

Kenobi smiled and replied with a shrug. Anakin rolled his eyes. “She killed some of our troops so we aren’t taking any chances. We’ll escort her to her cell.”

Plo Koon waved a hand. “That won’t be necessary, we are starting her trial immediately.” Surprised, Kenobi motioned for Cody to hand her over to the Temple Knights, and trailed behind Windu and Koon. Anakin nodded towards Rex before the Jedi entered the temple. Strolling through the temple doors, Kenobi felt a sense of peace and quietly smiled. He glanced over his shoulder to see the prisoner gaping at the architecture and the vast hallways. Obi-Wan nudged Anakin and nodded towards the pilot, and Anakin took in the wonder written on her face, and turned back to Kenobi in confusion.

“I guess she’s never been here before?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “I assume not, since she’s looking at the floors like she’s never seen tile before.”

At the council doors, Windu moved towards Skywalker and Kenobi and stopped before them. “Get your men ready for another mission. You may be sent out sooner rather than later.”

Anakin immediately went to argue. “Sir, we just came back from a battle and our troops are tired. Can’t someone else fight this one?”

Windu sighed. “Unfortunately, no. Our troops are spread thin as it is, and to top it off, we have just heard of a massacre on Devaron at the Temple of Eedit. Be prepared, who knows how long this proceeding may take.” Without another word, Windu orders the prisoner inside and leaves one of the doors open for Kenobi.

With a shrug from Anakin, the brown-haired general turns around and head towards the hangars, anxious to hear answers from the council about Devaron and the foreign Commander. Obi-Wan sighs and walks into the council room, ready to hear what the pilot had to say.

* * *

 

1st POV JEM

As the doors to the council room were closing, I turned and made brief eye contact with General Skywalker. He looked concerned. From what Luke had told me, Vader will kill him someday. Order 66 must be in the near future. Turning back around, I am faced with the ghosts of the past. These faces are ones I used to read about in databases. Or is it ones I will be reading about? This time jump is so confusing. I wish I wasn’t still wearing my pilot uniform.

My thoughts are interrupted as General Mace Windu begins firing question after question at me. ‘Why are you here’, ‘what do you want’, et cetera, et cetera. I then notice Master Yoda, the only one that hasn’t been identified as K.I.A. in history holograms. Maybe he is still alive in my time. I decide to put my faith in what little information I have on him and speak. I tell the council that I am a Freelance pilot, and I only wish to speak with Master Yoda alone. I watch as the council looks at one another. Yoda, surprisingly, agrees, much to the council’s dismay. I zone out as the council tries to reason with him not to speak with the prisoner alone, like I’m not even in the room. Slightly offensive. But I know if I was in their shoes I would be advising my former Master to do the very same thing. The Jedi, minus Yoda, file out of the room, and I watch as Kenobi heads towards the hangars to find Anakin.

The room is silent as he and I regard each other. He offers me a seat and I take it graciously. Another moment of silence before he speaks.

“A Jedi, you are not.”

I nod a confirmation. “There is no Dark Side, nor a Light Side. There is only the Force.”

He slowly closes his eyes and hums. “Words I have not heard in a while, they are. Why speak to me?”

I take a deep breath before answering, hoping my intuition wasn’t wrong. “You were the only one that wasn’t considered dead before the Empire. I think you’re the only one that is still alive and will know what it’s like.” With Yoda’s silence, I continued. “I am from your future, 3 ABY, to be exact. I was in the middle of a battle before… before… I don’t know what happened, but there was this flash of light and—”

Yoda held up a hand to stop me, eyes still closed. I tried coming up with another way to prove to him that my story was true. Memories.

“If I show you some memories, would it help prove my case?” He nods with some hesitation and I sit on the floor next to him. We assume meditation positions and he places a hand on my arm. I show him a time when I was still in school, going through databases of the Fall of the Republic, the faces of the council with the stamped “K.I.A.” across them. I show him the stormtroopers. I show him the Battles of Scarif, Yavin 4, and Hoth, and the flash of bright light that brought me here. I end with that since he knew the rest. We sit there, his hand still on my arm. His eyes were still closed, processing what I have shown.

Then he stands, a proposition in mind. “Help us through these times, will you? How long we will last, I do not know.”

I smile weakly. “I don’t think I can give you all of the information I have. No matter what, history will play out. I can, at most, only advise you on topics, but in the end the Republic will fall. I’m so sorry.” The Jedi Master nods solemnly, finding my words to be true. I feel sympathetic towards the old Master. “What is happening at this moment?”

Yoda takes out a disk and plays a surveillance tape. _Temple of Eedit. Savage Opress. Darth Maul will be making his appearance soon. This really was the beginning of the end for the Republic._ The Master glances up at me. “Darth Maul?”

I shake my head. “Similar, I think they are kin.” I consider what information I can give him before continuing. “He comes from Dathomir, just like Maul. Start there. He is still new to the Sith, but he is strong with the Force. That is all I should give you.” Yoda agrees reluctantly, heading towards the door. He tells a guard to summon Kenobi, and lets in Windu, who was standing outside the door. Windu eyes me cautiously as he approaches us. With a nod from me, Yoda relays the important parts of my story to the man, who considers the other Master’s words carefully.

Windu then nodded towards me. “Not to raise suspicion, you will work under General Kenobi. You will retain your Commander status and lead your own Company. Your company will most likely be an unmarked reserve Company, because keeping you off the books will be for the best.” He passes me a special comlink and a datapad. “This is a direct line to either me or Yoda when you have any information that you can give us safely.”

I accepted the new position and the supplies, but tilted my head to the side and question Yoda. “Will conversations we have be off-book?” Windu looks at Yoda questionably and the smaller Master considers her question.

“Advise your General first, you will, but the council, you will not. These conversations must be off-book.” Windu looks between the two of us, concerned. I ask where I will be staying and Windu replies that he has made reservations to have quarters prepared near the clone barracks. I assume he sensed by uneasiness and assured me that I would be safe near the troops. I thanked him, but my uneasiness did not come from those outside the Republic. With a nod to each of them, I left the room in search of my clothes, weapons, and quarters.

* * *

 

3rd POV

The two Jedi Masters watched Commander Antilles exit before Windu turned to Yoda. “If anyone else knew about this there would be chaos and the Commander’s life will be in danger, and we cannot afford to lose such an asset.”

Just then, General Kenobi appears, and the three Jedi discuss the Temple Eedit massacre. Yoda passes on Commander Antilles’s words about the murderer, and Kenobi starts to leave to find Anakin. Windu calls him back. “Commander Antilles will work under you from now on and will have a reserve battalion under her.”

Obi-Wan regards them. “With no respect, I do not feel I need any more assistance. Commander Cody gives me all the help I need. Maybe she would be better suited under General Skywalker’s command?”

Yoda shakes his head. “Follow her advice, Skywalker will not. Better suited to listen to her insight, you are. You must keep her alive.” The auburn-haired man resigns and exits towards the hangars.

After their battle with Savage, Obi-Wan tells Anakin about his new Commander. “I’m just not sure she is right for the Corps. I recommended her to be transferred to your unit, but Master Yoda feels I am more equipped to follow her advice.”

Anakin laughs. “Well, he’s right you know. I almost never listen, you’ve said so yourself. I’m sure it will be fine, Master. Besides, Yoda said you were well-endowed—” Anakin was promptly cut off from a whack to the head and a stern glare. A transmission came in, showing General Koon along with General Windu.

“Kenobi and Skywalker, you are needed back on Coruscant immediately, we have intercepted a message from the Outer Rim in the Crelythiumn system.” The transmission ended there, and the two generals flashed each other a look before making the jump to hyperspace.

* * *

 

Commander Antilles, finally in her battle robes, was quickly introduced to the 212th Attack Battalion before being shipped off into a Jedi Cruiser with Captain Rex of the 501st Legion. The Commander was leaning against a wall of the bridge next to the center console, going over the plan on a data pad to meet up with Kenobi, Skywalker, and Tano as they investigated the mysterious message the Jedi Council had received. She remembered when she was still in school reading some vague passage about the planet of Mortis, but it was never said what had transpired there, besides that the ‘Chosen One’ had been determined. Other than that, she had no idea what they were up against.

The console flickered as a transmission came in from General Skywalker. “Rex. Rex, do you read me?”

The Captain ended his conversation with a trooper and turned towards the console, nodding quickly. Jem stepped away from the wall to stand beside him.

“We’re at the rendezvous point awaiting your arrival. Where are you?” The transmission continued to flicker.

Rex and Jem glanced at each other before the Captain spoke. “Sir, we are at the rendezvous point, and there’s no sign of you on our scanners.”

Skywalker gave him an annoyed look. “Oh, come on. That’s impossible.” In the hologram he exasperatedly looks to the left, supposedly to General Kenobi. “Something’s wrong. We’re at the exact coordinates where the distress signal originated, but there’s nothing here.” Skywalker is frantically waving his arms about, annoyed, which Jem inwardly chuckles at. Skywalker continues, “Rex is at the exact same coordinates, and he’s not here.”

The Force suddenly seemed to oscillate around Jem and she held onto the console to keep herself upright. A trooper comes to her aid at the sight of her distress, and keeps her steady as the Force disorients her.

There is a muted reply from Kenobi before the transmission starts breaking up. Rex leans onto the console, concern growing in his voice. “We’re unable to find you. Where are you, sir? Sir?!” The transmission is abruptly cut off, and Rex orders an engineer to begin fixing the problem before checking on the new Commander. “Commander, is everything alright?”

Then, the Force is back to normal. A little queasy, Jem nods and thanks the trooper before righting herself and pointing to the blip that appeared a moment after the transmission went out, showing the trio’s arrival. The Captain quickly hailed them again, this time the hologram coming in clear. “General Skywalker, come in.”

The General slowly sits up and responds slowly. “We read you, Rex. Can you hear me?”

The Captain nods with a flash of a smile. “Yes, sir, standing by. We were worried. You were off the scopes there for a moment.”

Anakin chuckles. “A moment? Hah. We’ve been gone more than a moment, Rex.”

Jem and Rex glance at each other again. The Commander speaks up this time. “Sir, I don’t understand. Can you explain?”

Anakin glances to his left again. “You… wouldn’t believe me if I told you. We’re coming in now.” The transmission ends as the shuttle enters the Cruiser.

With that, the two commanding officers exit the bridge to meet their Generals. She reiterates that she feels fine before Rex could ask again, and he puts his hands up in surrender. As they are walking, Jem could practically feel the curiosity coming from the Captain, but it takes marching a few halls in silence for him to ask, “Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, why were you not with the other Jedi?”

The Commander smiled up at him. “Because I left the Jedi Order after I had passed my trials. I felt that sometimes the Order is outdated in the evolving times and doesn’t always do what’s needed to keep the peace. Oh, I’m Jem, by the way, but friends call me Fox.” Rex laughs at the silly nickname but nods all the same.

“You aren’t a Jedi, but you have the lightsabers,” he questioned, “how does that work?”

Jem avoided the question, not wanting to hand out too much information, future Rebel ally or not. “I don’t only have them, I also have _these_ ,” she grinned, reaching around to grab her deactivated batons from her belt to show off. To him, they just looked like 4-inch black rods, and he raised an eyebrow at them. She held a knowing smile, “I’ll show you how to use them whenever we spar. It’ll be fun!” Rex cautiously agreed, not knowing what he was getting himself into.

As they entered the main hangar, the Generals and Ahsoka were exiting their shuttle, appearing worn out. The Commander and Captain cast a glance at each other and strode over to the trio. With a quick nod to Rex, Jem sidled up to her General and walked beside him, leaving the other three behind. “Do you need any medical attention, sir? We have a request to return to Coruscant with General Skywalker. Rescue mission.”

Kenobi nodded to let her know that he heard her. “I think I just need a quick nap and a hot shower. Get acquainted with the 212th so they get to know you. Seems like you and Rex are already best friends.” Jem snorted and Kenobi’s mouth quirked up. There was a moment of silence before he asked quietly, “Where we really only gone a moment?”

Antilles confirmed. “Yes, sir, after the transmission went out it was only a couple of seconds before we picked you up on the radar. But after your transmission started going out, the Force felt wrong, like there was another frequency or something, and then returned to normal when your signal came back up.” Obi-Wan stroked his beard in thought.

As they approached the lifts, Kenobi turned toward his new Commander. “I fear we will never meet anything like that again, but only time will tell. Go find Commander Cody and he will properly introduce you to everyone.” With that, he let the lift take him to his quarters.

Uneasy at her new assignment, Jem left to find Cody, who was in the sparring room with a few of the 212th. The group stopped sparring to give her their full attention. She coughed awkwardly and waved before she spoke. “Uh, hi there. I’m your new Commander. Jem Antilles.”

One of the soldier’s nudged the Clone Commander. “Ooh, I bet she’s going to give you a run for your money.”

Cody sent him a quick look. “Can it, Longshot.” He gestures with a small smile for her to come over. “Tell me, Commander, do I outrank you or do you outrank me?”

Jem grins and shrugs. “I have no idea how ranking works around here, so you definitely outrank me no matter what my title says. I’m just here to advise the General and make sure he doesn’t do anything rash.”

Laughter echoes around the room from the other troops. Cody smirks. “If you wanted rash, you should have gone with General Skywalker.” Sending a look to the boys, he adds, “Do you want to spar a little? It’ll boost morale. And you’ll learn names.”

Jem laughed and agreed. The man named “Longshot” steps up first and introduces himself. The two shake hands and then they begin. Longshot quickly dives in with a punch, which Jem sidestepped to promptly kick the back of his knees and watches him crumple to the ground. A few whoops and hollers were heard from within the room as clones took notice of the battle.

Another man with a goatee steps onto the mat with a grin. “I’m Waxer. The one with the ridiculous mustache is Boil.” He pointed to another clone with a long mustache and cropped hair. Boil rolled his eyes at the other man, and Jem grinned. This time, it took a minute of dodging and jabbing before her sparring partner collapsed in defeat and a loss of feeling in his arms.

About an hour in, she has met Longshot, Waxer, Boil, Wooley, Trapper, and Fives and Echo from the 501st. Fives almost beat her, and she was proud of sporting the already-forming bruises on her jaw and arms. Soon there was a small crowd surrounding the mat as Echo face-planted on the floor, finally yielding the match. Some currency was exchanged just as Cody stepped onto the mat. The troops went wild as Jem grinned, sweat glistening. She had discarded her robes a while ago and was only wearing the undershirt and pants, since Fives, on his way to the ground, grabbed her sash and brought her down with him. She noticed Rex, armor on, leaning against the entrance and was watching the spectacle before him. She winked and gave him a lazy salute before turning to the Marshal Commander. “Weapons to make it more interesting?”

Cody shrugged and the two left to find close-combat tools. Jem came back with her batons and waved them in the direction of Rex who again raised an eyebrow. Cody had come back with a Melee weapon of his own, a vibroblade. He snorted and pointed with his blade at the small block rods in her hands. “What is that?” With a flick of her wrists, the rods extended into foot-long batons that narrowed at the tips. They emitted a blue glow between the joints and made a small humming noise. Some of the boys whistled and others laughed. Rex still didn’t look impressed. Cody shrugged and got into his fighting stance, blade at the ready. Jem blew some hair out of her face and got ready for his attack, strategy already formed.

He ran at her, blade swinging and she dives to the right, left baton going for his torso, which he dodges. She doesn’t see General Skywalker and Ahsoka enter the sparring room as she rounds on Cody, going in for a couple swipes with her batons which he also avoids. It is a couple of minutes going back and forth before he manages to catch her a little on her left arm as she swings her leg around to roundhouse him in the abdomen. Cody quickly grabs her leg and roughly throws her on the ground, but she quickly rolls out of danger before jumping up. Deciding her best option, she full on sprints at him and he holds his blade close to his face as he takes a defensive stance. He falters as she drops to the ground right before jabbing a baton into his stomach. At impact, he is sent flying across the room into the padded walls with a thud, and he collapses on the ground in shock.

The crowd stares at Cody a moment before turning to her, still on the ground with her baton up from here she tagged him. The silence was deafening. She thought they would execute Order 66 right then and there. Then, slow clapping was heard from the entrance. Jem stood to find Kenobi, amused at the spectacle, along with Anakin, the one clapping, and Ahsoka. The soldiers around her snapped to attention at the sight of the Generals, and she made her way off the mat to her Commanding officer to salute in front of him. Kenobi gestured at the crowd of troops. “I see you’re getting along well with our battalion, although when I said you should get to know them, I didn’t exactly have this in mind.”

Cody appeared next to her holding his stomach. “I suggested it, sir. Thought it would boost morale.”

Rex snorted from where he was leaning against the doorframe but makes no comment. Jem side-eyes him and deactivates her batons before turning back to Kenobi. “I apologize for the commotion that I have caused.”

Kenobi gazed at her. “Accepted. However, you owe me for the credits I just lost.” Jem’s jaw dropped as Kenobi smirked and started to walk away. “Oh, and please shower. We will be arriving at Coruscant soon.” Anakin and his Padawan followed, the former’s laugher floating down the hallway. Cody and Jem stood side-by-side silently before Jem turns to him, brushing sweaty hair out of her eyes.

“I should go. Thanks for the introduction and the match. You almost had me there a couple times,” she states with a slight tease in her voice.

Cody fights a grin before asking “How’s the arm? And where did you get those anyways? They pack quite a punch.”

Jem stashes her batons safely to the back of her belt. “Arm will be fine. More importantly, how’s the stomach?” He waves the concern off and she giggles before continuing. “And I made the batons. They come in handy in sticky situations.” She grabs her discarded robes and waves to the crowd still present. “It was nice meeting you all. I look forward to working with you.” A chorus of cheers and laughter surround the room as she makes her exit.

Rex winks at her as she passes by. “You did good, Fox. I’ll see you around.”

She pats his arm as she leaves the sparring room to find her way to her quarters.

Once she’s gone, the Commander joins the Captain at the door. Rex greets him with a question. “Well, what do you think of the new Commander?”

Cody blows air from his nose and wipes sweat from his forehead. “I think I’m going to get a lot of requests to have her painted on the gunships.” Rex laughs at his friend’s retort as the two head their separate ways.


	4. T is for trauma

**S3 Ep 18-20 “The Citadel”, “Counterattack”, and “Citadel Rescue”**

 

General Koon, General Kenobi, General Skywalker, Commanders Cody and Jem, Captain Rex, and ARC Troopers Echo and Fives are gathered around a console to make plans for a rescue mission to save Master Piell from the Separatists in the Citadel.

General Koon starts the meeting. “As you are aware the Citadel is their most isolated and impenetrable detention facility. No one has ever escaped.”

Skywalker pipes up. “There’s a first time for everything.” Kenobi agrees.

Koon continues. “Their security has prevented our probes from obtaining recent reconnaissance, so we’ve been Forced to construct a crude map based on data from the archives.”

A hologram pops up to show a maze of passageways. Obi-Wan adds on, “and since the data is extremely old, the map will be difficult to rely on,” he finishes with a shake of his head as he regarded the clones standing to his left.

Anakin looks up from the hologram. “So, we’re essentially going in blind.”

“Beg your pardon, General,” Rex interrupts to address Kenobi, “but how do we know Master Piell is still alive?” Jem understands his point of view and softly smiles at him, but remains quiet.

“The Separatists won’t dare kill Master Piell until they have what they need,” Kenobi answers confidently, hand on his chin.

General Koon explains, “he obtained the coordinates of a secret hyperspace lane known as the Nexus Route, which travels into the heart of both the Republic and Separatist home worlds.”

“They could prove vital in maneuvering our Forces deep in remote Separatist sectors.”

Anakin adds another reason on top of Kenobi’s. “Or the enemy could use them to slip through our defenses and attack Coruscant.”

General Koon finishes. “These hyperspace lanes are of immense interest to both our sides and could tip the scale of the war to whomever is in possession of them.” The General looks at each of them separately before dismissing them.

The Commanders and Captain begin planning the squadron to accompany the Generals. They began to handpick troops before she feels a nudge from the Force and looked up to find Kenobi gesturing for her to follow him. She says her goodbyes to the men and strides over to the General’s side as the three Generals exit into the hallway. General Koon reveals that they have three possible locations where the Separatists could be hiding the Jedi Master, and Kenobi shows concern for the life-scanners. Anakin starts his theory on how to evade the scanners before his Padawan runs up to them, apologizing for missing the briefing.

General Koon glances at Kenobi before he turns to Skywalker. “You two have much to discuss,” he states before turning away and continuing down the hall with Obi-Wan and Jem. She could hear Ahsoka and Anakin arguing as the trio turns the corner. Plo nods his goodbyes as he leaves for the council hall.

Obi-Wan turns to Jem. “Hungry?” The white-haired woman nodded as they made their way towards the Mess Hall. They sat across from each other and ate in comfortable silence. Obi-Wan wiped his mouth with a napkin and leaned his elbows on the table, regarding her. Jem noticed and raised a silent eyebrow in question. He cleared his throat. “Sorry, it’s just that we know almost nothing about you and as your commanding officer, I feel it is within my right.”

Jem puts down her spoon and gazes at him, stalling. “Depends, are you going to lose any more credits that I will have to pay?”

Obi-Wan grins and takes a sip of his drink. “Maybe.” Jem knows he wants an explanation, but she can’t give him one, so instead she replies,

“I’m from Correllia. I’m a Freelance pilot and a mechanic.”

Obi-Wan beamed and picked up his fork. “Do you have any questions for me? You were rather abruptly thrown into this war.”

Her amber eyes flashed and she immediately replied with, “I don’t know the ranking system around here. Does Commander Cody outrank me, or do I outrank him?”

Kenobi chuckles about his Clone Commander. “Cody’s already trying to pull rank, eh? He is a Marshall Commander, which is the highest rank a clone can hold.” He added with a sigh, “He leads that 212th, which means he probably outranks you, but I’m sure if you wanted you two could just duke it out like earlier.” He then looks her right in the eye. “Why are you uneasy around the clones? I know you try to hide it, but you don’t do a complete job.” The question almost made her choke on her drink. She thought she was doing well at hiding it. _Damn_. Kenobi continues, “Does this have to do with this Order you were talking about while in your cell?”

 _Kriffing Jedi._ She feigns innocence. “I don’t know what you mean. I almost lost it in that cell, if you don’t recall. I wouldn’t take anything I said too seriously.” _Not yet_ , she thinks. Kenobi’s face shows doubt but he doesn’t press any further. A comm from an exasperated Cody tells them that the rescue team is almost ready to depart. They hear Fives joking around in the background, the origins of Cody’s distressed tone. Kenobi lets him know they were on their way before signing off. He looks at her calmly before standing, tray in hand.

“It’s time.” The General had a smug look as he pressed a button on his comm. “Anakin, you owe me twenty credits. Corellia.” A drawn-out groan was the reply and Jem snorted.

When they enter the hangar, Jem sees Ahsoka pleading with Master Plo to go on the mission with them and watches her stalk off towards some crates. She stays at the entrance as her General moves to greet the rest of the rescue squad. She slowly walks over to Ahsoka and kneels before her. Blue eyes meet hers and Jem gives her a soft smile before putting a hand on her shoulder. Glancing over her shoulder at the squad, she turns back towards Ahsoka. “Look, I’m going against the rules here, but I believe this is your mission, not mine. My destiny does not follow this path. Meet me next to the carbon freezing compound. Tell no one.” Commander Tano stared at her with wide eyes but nodded. Casually, Jem stood up and trudged over to the rest of the squad and followed them towards the compound. Kenobi eyed her suspiciously but remained silent. As the rescue squad was lowered into their carbon freezing chambers, Kenobi glanced over his shoulder to make sure Jem was still with them, and turned back around, satisfied that she was.

However, as soon as the lift stopped, Jem and Ahsoka quickly switched places before the chamber was activated. Jem remained hidden as the compounds were loaded onto the Separatist shuttle along with R2D2 and his reprogrammed battle droids. She stepped out to stand beside General Plo as the shuttle took off towards the Citadel. He didn’t even acknowledge her before stating, “I hope you have made the right decision.”

There was a moment of silence before the Commander replied. “It was not my destiny to be on that shuttle. Even if I wasn’t here, she would have found a way.”

* * *

 

Oh, Kenobi was going to have _words_ with his new Commander when he got back. If he got back.

They had almost escaped with Master Piell; they had reached the hangar but it was a trap. The shuttle was gone with a few clones as well. As he seeks shelter, he sends out a communication and General Plo answers, with General Windu and Commander Antilles beside him. “Master Kenobi, what has happened?”

Kenobi yells into his comm. “I’m afraid we’ve had a situation with the shuttle.”

Anakin appears in the transmission, running alongside him. “By ‘situation’, he means ‘big explosion’. We’re gonna need a rescue.”

Plo furrows his brows. “It will be done. I’m sending our cruisers now.” He cuts off the transmission and turns to Commander Antilles. “It’s time to go.” She nods once and follows him to the hangars.

Another transmission comes in when they leave the atmosphere of Coruscant. This time it is Master Piell. “Our escape route has been compromised, and there are several squads of droids closing in on us.”

Anakin appears next to him. “When can we expect your arrival?”

Windu answers. “Master Plo and Commander Antilles are already en route.”

Yoda adds, “Gunships will arrive to evacuate you and your men, but do not delay. Only a small window of opportunity shall we have. Your rendezvous point will be this island.” A small map of a clearing surrounded by mountains is shown.

Master Piell confirms. Windu ends the call with “may the Force be with you”.

The Commander turns toward General Plo. “We must hurry.”

He nods and connects to the other ships in the recon fleet. “Master Tiin, you should be leading the fighter attack. Once you punch a hole through their defenses, I will lead the gunships down to the surface and extract the team.”

Master Tiin responds with his concerns with “depending on the size of their Force, I don’t know how much time we can buy you.”

“You will do your best, I’m sure.” Plo replies confidently, his hands clasped behind his back.

Master Gallia warns that they will have to leave them if they do not arrive on time, and Master Tiin agrees solemnly.

Jem steps towards the console and the Jedi look to her. There is a look of assurance as she stares at each of them, brows furrowed. “They’ll be there.”

The Cruisers arrived at the blockade and Master Tiin began his attack, with Master Plo and Commander Antilles not far behind in a gunship. Jem hopes everyone is alright. When they arrive, Jem realized that wasn’t a clearing, but a volcano that was the rendezvous point. The squad was a lot smaller than when they had left. As Plo pulled up to the island, he said to the troops “I believe you have overstayed your welcome.” Jem knew he had to be smirking under his mask.

As soon as the squad started boarding, enemy droid spiders appeared. “Move!” The Commander reached out a hand and yelled, white hair coming out of its bun and whipping wildly around her. The squad quickly jumped on the ship, and the ship took off, doors not even completely closed yet.

Plo commed his Admiral. “Admiral Coburn, we have the survivors. Recall all fighters.” The Admiral confirmed his order and prepared to jump to lightspeed. The engines whirred as the gunship sped towards the Republic cruiser. The fleet immediately made the jump towards Coruscant as soon as the hangar doors closed.

Jem looked around at the remains of their elite rescue squad solemnly, knowing what had happened from reading log reports of this day. She was thankful that Commander Cody, Captain Rex, and Fives survived, but realized that Longshot and Echo were a couple of the troopers that had fallen. She hung her head, understanding that there wasn’t anything she could have done to prevent it. A soft nudge with the Force made her glance in Kenobi’s direction, who gazed at her with tired eyes that held something else. Disappointment.

As the gunship landed and the doors slid open, the troops filed out, most heading towards the Med Bay. The Generals headed to the bridge as Jem left with Cody and Rex but was stopped by Ahsoka. The poor Padawan looked like she held the galaxy on her shoulders, and she almost did. Jem gently waved the two men off and walked alongside Ahsoka, hands clasped behind her back. They silently walked the hallways of the cruiser and Jem waited patiently until the other decided to speak. It was about the second lap around the same hallway before she finally stopped and turned towards her partner. “I feel conflicted. I’m glad I could be on this mission, but I also feel if we had followed orders everything would have turned out fine. Our men would have been alive. Master Piell would have survived.”

Jem sighed quietly and placed a hand on the other female’s arm, speaking comfortingly to her. “Ahsoka, there is no way of telling how these things will play out. Maybe if I had followed orders it would have went perfectly, but it could have also ended with everyone caught and imprisoned.” She gave the other Commander a soft smile. “What matters is that you went and you did your best. The troops and Master Piell knew what they died for, so keep their memory alive by bringing that information to the council and sharing it with them.” The Togruta gulped but nodded and the Sephi-Human patted her arm. “Straighten up, we’ll be arriving on Coruscant shortly. We don’t want the Masters to worry.” Ahsoka gave Jem a weak laugh but sniffed and straightened her shoulders. _Good girl. Just like a General._

The Jedi, Commander Antilles, and Captain Tarkin met Master Yoda and Windu at the deck at the Temple. Jem made sure to stand far away from Captain Tarkin. Quiet words about Master Piell were passed around before the conversation went to business. After Yoda decides to speak with Chancellor Palpatine (a shiver runs down Jem’s back when she hears the name), the group breaks up.

Anakin calls to Plo, who joins Kenobi and Anakin. “There’s something we want to ask you.” Jem and Ahsoka attempt to quickly walk away but is stopped with Anakin’s accusation. “Did you assign Ahsoka to the mission to replace Commander Antilles?” Jem freezes and refuses to turn around, but Ahsoka does and casts a glance at Master Plo before looking to the ground out of guilt.

Master Plo responds with an unreadable expression. “It appears I did.” Ahsoka looks up, shocked, and Jem lets out a breath. She turns to watch Kenobi and Anakin look at each other, and then stare at Jem. The glaring is cut off when the farewells from Tarkin intervene. The two watch the Captain leave in a shuttle before they approach the Commander, who was calmly waiting for them.

Anakin angrily points an accusing finger at her. “You almost killed my Padawan _again_. You went behind our backs and disobeyed orders. You should be sent back to prison. No, a military prison so you won’t ever see the light of day again. And—”

Amused, Kenobi waits for Anakin to finish as he observes his Commander. Her hands were clasped behind her back and stood tall as she took the threats thrown. She is even looking Anakin in the eye. Clearly, she holds no remorse for disobeying orders. As Anakin continues ranting, her eyes slowly slide from Anakin’s face to Kenobi’s, expression unreadable. He realizes that this time she’s waiting for _him_ to react, like he did to her when he was battling Ventress. Kenobi ceases Skywalker’s rant by wrapping an arm around the Corellian’s shoulders and steering her towards the temple doors and away from Anakin.

Anakin stops his pursuit as Jem glances back at him, amber eyes seeming to gaze into his soul and yet also seem like she was so far away. “Be careful, General, that fear and anger _will_ lead you down the path of the dark side.” Anakin will have dreams about that haunted look and the strange emphasis of “will”, as if it had already consumed him.

* * *

 

1ST POV JEM

Anakin is ranting again. Fulcrum wasn’t kidding when she said that he cared deeply for his friends. However, he needs to be prepared for future missions for when they are separated for longer periods of time. He needs to realize that she can take care of herself. My mind wanders towards R3, who was looking through data files, trying to figure out what had happened when they made the time jump, and seeing if it is possible to do it again.

Dear god, he’s still ranting.

I wonder when I will meet my battalion. I was assigned to “212th Reserves” and the unit was taken off the books. Only the troops within her battalion, Commander Cody, and General Kenobi knew what it was.

Speaking of General Kenobi, I attempt to nonchalantly turn my gaze to him, looking for an out from the other General’s rant. He seemed to take the hint and began guiding me towards the Temple. Then, a vision came to me, strikingly dark and full of horror and fear.

_The temple is dark. Empty. Silent. Except it wasn’t empty. I trip over the many bodies of younglings and Jedi and I see blaster fire scorching the walls and marking the pillars of peace. I see Anakin standing at the entrance of the temple, facing towards the city. Something is wrong. I call out to him and he turns, hearing but not seeing me. His eyes are yellow, not the blue they usually are. An aura emanated from him as he activated his lightsaber. Then, he breathed. It was grisly and mechanical. Horror spread over me as I immediately recognized that sound. The sound of the Empire. The sound of hatred and death._

_The sound of Darth Vader._

I rip myself out of the vision and bring my mind back to the present. I whip my head around to see Anakin, miffed that Kenobi and I were ignoring him. His blue eyes widen when he sees my face. My voice sounds hoarse when I say, “Be careful, General, that fear and anger _will_ lead you down the path of the dark side.”

I could feel Kenobi surveying me as I turned back and continued with him through the Temple doors, but I am too in shock to respond. My mind racing, too fast to even fully comprehend anything, but one central thought replayed over and over: _I need to warn Luke. I need to warn Luke. I need to warn Luke._

After a while I realize that we had stopped, I forced myself to take in my surroundings and noticed that we were standing in front of a shuttle, waiting to take off. I glance up to see the General still scanning me, concern gracing his features and arm still wrapped around my shoulders. I ask him where we were going.

He removes his arm, but his eyes continuing to scan my face as he answered, “You are going to be introduced to your battalion. They are anxious to meet you.” I nod and follow him onto the shuttle. The aircraft takes off before he continues. “What happened back in the hangar that is making you act like this?”

“I had a vision from the future. I’ll see Yoda after I meet my troops.” Obi-Wan nods and leaves to speak to the pilot.

I press the button for the direct line to Yoda and Windu. “We need to meet as soon as possible. _Storm conditions_ ” I emphasize, letting them know the meeting should be uncorroborated.

A reply from Windu was immediate. “Council room. Tonight.”

I released the button to end the connection as Kenobi returned. He sits a seat away from me, giving me space, which I am grateful for. I take a deep breath and meditate as the shuttle continues its course towards the Troop Center.


	5. Captain Crunch killed my dad

3RD POV

The battalion was already at attention when the shuttle arrived. Jem and Obi-Wan descended the ramp, and were greeted by Cody and five other clones, helmets off. The five men saluted quickly and Obi-Wan waved it off. He gestured towards the officer with blue eyes, which Jem found surprising. Typically, the Kaminoans destroyed mutations. “This is CT-4578. He is your Clone Major. And these,” gesturing to the other men, “these are your four Captains. You were also cleared for a Clone Commando group. Group name is called the Green Squad.”

The Commander smiled at the color choice and found the squad near the front of the Company, making a mental note to meet them personally. She turned towards her officers. “What are your names?”

The Major spoke first. “The name is Hawk, sir, and these,” pointing a thumb towards the other man, “are Jet, Lyr, Dott, and Incera.” Jet had tattoo freckles on his cheeks and side-parted hair. Lyr was a man with a scruffy beard and a man bun, who nodded politely to Jem. Captain Dott was a suave-looking man; his hair was slicked back and he had a chin strip to hide a scar on his lip. Incera had short, russet-colored hair and sported a goatee.

She proceeded to shake their hands, to the amusement of both Cody and Kenobi. “It’s nice to meet you five. I am Commander Antilles, and I look forward to serving with you.” When her back was turned, the captains sent Hawk a questioning glance, and he shrugs his shoulders in response.

Then, she walked towards her troops, the General and Marshall Commander following, and the Major falling in line behind them. He watched as Kenobi and Cody shared an amused look with each other before facing forwards again.

A trooper’s head followed her as Jem walked down the middle of her Battalion, and she winked towards him, causing the clone to immediately snap back to attention. She stopped in the center and smiled before addressing her troops. “Greetings, and welcome to the 212th Reserves! I’m Commander Antilles, your commanding officer. Because we are a Reserve Battalion, we will not see as much fighting as the rest of the Corps. But rest assured that we will have the most fun.” From the corner of her eye, the General sent her a disapproving glare. She quickly finishes her speech with a grin. “Anyways, welcome to the 7th Sky Corps! I would like to speak the with the Green Squad, the rest of you are dismissed.”

After that, she faced Kenobi with arms crossed, a smug expression on her face. He quirked a brow at her. “Most fun, indeed. I’ll be heading back to the Temple. Let me know when you need a ride.”

Jem waved her goodbye to her General and turned towards the Green Squad, which consisted of four Clone Commandos. She pulled out her list and called them individually, asking their names and positions.

“RC-4759?”

The clone stepped forward and removed his helmet. He had a buzzcut and a large scar across his nose. Clean shaven. “Chuxx, sir. Demolitions. I am the second-in-command.”

Jem nodded and shook his hand before continuing.

RC-2606. Name is Alarm. Medic. Sports a crew cut. Clean shaven.

RC-9036. Called Ghost. Sniper. Dyes his hair gray and prefers it shaggy. Clean shaven. Blue circle tattooed encasing his left eye.

RC-1941. Captain Tumm. Handles technology-based tasks and is the Squad Leader. Hair styled in a half ponytail and has a 5 O’clock shadow. Has scars in the shape of a “t” close to his right eye.

She greets them all individually and calls them by their preferred name, and lets them know that they may be up for an assignment soon. Jem also informs them that Green Squad will see more action than the battalion, but she would not typically go with them on missions. She encourages them to choose the color and design of their armor, and she would then have it professionally painted.

Cody watches the meeting from afar. The Marshal Commander waits for her as she finishes her meeting with a “I’ll be back to check on everything and make sure everyone is settled. Let me know what color and design you want tonight.”

He alerts Kenobi that Antilles was ready to depart as she approaches the clone. They move towards the edge of the hangar, and Jem sits, cross-legged, in the sun spot that was slowly starting to disappear. She pats the ground beside her and Cody rolls his eyes and complies. They remain side-by-side in comfortable silence, watching the sun set and enjoying the light breeze. From the corner of his eye, Cody watched Jem’s long, slender fingers absentmindedly play with the hem of her robes, and he marveled at how the sun highlighted the soft pink undertones of her skin. Her fingers were calloused, showing years of manual labor, and he wondered how she got them. He then realized that he knew almost nothing about his Commander, but put it aside to enjoy the quiet evening with his companion.

Jem could feel him surveying her, but quietly let him continue as she watched the city bustle from her seat. She understood that she was a mystery to the other Commander, as she just appeared out of nowhere, and he was ordered to trust her without any context or explanation. _His life must be a constant rollercoaster._

The buildings reflect the orange and pink light from the sun which brings Jem back to the first time she had visited Doaba Guerfel with her parents. _The resort city’s nightlife had started to arise as the sun set over the towering mountains. The sunset was like this one—no clouds in the sky but with a slight breeze._ Jem softly smiled. _The Empire hadn’t started their attack on the city yet. It was care-free and joyful, just like my family was._

Unfortunately, the peaceful scene was ruined when Jem’s mind wandered to the vision she had received earlier that day.

The clone noticed the drop in her demeaner. “Commander, is—”

“It’s Jem. No one else is around.” Her sentences seemed clipped and she winced slightly before adding, “…sorry.”

He waved off the apology with a small flick of his wrist. “As I was saying, _Commander_ , is everything alright?”

Her ear twitched but otherwise did not retort and made no attempt to correct him this time. “I had a vision earlier today and it’s been troubling me. The war will be ending soon, and I fear the worst.”

“How soon?”

Sighing, Jem leans back on her hands and continues to watch the sun disappearing over the horizon, the last of the rays dimming against the darkness of the night. “Very soon.” She softly adds, “someone is going to betray us.”

The clone was casually leaning his arms on his knees, but moves to copy her, leaning back while considering her words. “We should remove the threat.”

An idea pops into her head but she catalogues it for later. She shook her head at Cody. “The motion has already been put into place a long time ago. The only thing we can do is be watchful.” Changing to a lighter subject, she sighs dramatically and looks at him. “On top of that, I’m not looking forward to the large amounts of reports that I need to write.” Cody released a quick breath out of his nose to show his amusement. He softly whacks her on the back on the head and she chuckles, the somber atmosphere changing back to relaxed.

The two were admiring the appearing stars as Kenobi’s airspeeder docks, and they stand to greet him. The Jedi nods his farewells to Cody as Jem hops into the passenger side of the craft. The clone waits for them to depart before finally entering the barracks.

The speeder takes off. “Sorry for the wait. I had errands to run,” Obi-Wan apologizes, merging onto one of the skylanes. Jem hummed in acknowledgement, enjoying the wind flowing through her hair and remembered why she loved flying.

There was a moment of silence before he speaks again. “You’re not from around here, are you?”

She laughs and continues watching the speeders around her. “Of course not! I’m from Corellia, remember?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

Suddenly the wind felt it was choking her. She held her smile, but it felt forced. She turns towards him, stammering. “I don’t quite understand what you mean, sir. Where else could I be from?”

Kenobi’s eyes remain on the skylane and speaks in a low adjective, his voice almost blending into the surroundings. “I found your droid searching through our databases earlier. It was searching for algorithms under the topic of ‘time travel’.”

She inwardly groans as he continues. “Yoda will not say why, but I am supposed to keep an eye on you, which can only mean two things: that you have valuable information, or you’re an enemy of the Republic,” Obi-Wan murmurs, finally taking his eyes off the lane to fixate on her, “and I do hope it’s the former because I have enjoyed our conversations and would hate to lose them.”

“Well, uh,” Jem began, playing with the hem of her sleeves before wrapping her arms around herself, “It is in everyone’s best interest to keep any information about me away from the public—”

Kenobi braked hard as they reached the Temple hangar. She held her breath as she observed the man take a deep breath before facing towards her. “Jem, I cannot trust you if I don’t know who you are,” he enunciated.

The two held each other’s gazes. The Commander took in the apprehensive eyes and the dark circles and bags under his eyes. She is the first one to break.

She silently hops out of the airspeeder and trudges towards the Temple entrance, stopping once to nod her head to Kenobi in the direction of the door. He quietly follows, eyes observing her every move.

They make their way to the council room and Jem slides one of the doors open to show Yoda and Windu already waiting for her. The dark-skinned man raises a brow when Obi-Wan comes in behind Jem. “Master Kenobi, this is a private matter—”

Jem steps in to defend his presence. “I think he needs to know. You assigned me to him to give him advice; he should know where I’m getting it from.”

Obi-Wan sent her an appreciative glance.

Yoda and Windu look at each other before Yoda replies. “Very well, Master Kenobi may stay.”

The three Masters take their normal seats as Jem stands in the center of the room, facing the two elder Jedis. She begins with her vision, leaving out specificities. “I know who will turn to the dark side. He and Darth Sidious will form the Empire that will ultimately lead to the Galactic Civil War.”

Obi-Wan interjects. “What civil war?”

She sends him a weak smile. “Where I’m from, or more, _when_ I’m from,” she emphasizes, “there is a civil war across the galaxy against the evil and corrupt Galactic Empire.”

“What about the Republic? Why are they not intervening?”

Jem falters. “The, uh, the Republic became the Empire.”

Disturbed, Kenobi strokes his beard. “Then what about the Jedi? Why haven’t they stopped it?”

She tenses and the room is filled with an unnerving stillness. Master Windu thankfully changes the subject to keep her from answering.

“Have you gotten any farther in your research?”

“Yes,” she starts, still uneasy about the previous question, "R-three has found a few entries about time travel, but it does not say how they were able to accomplish it. He believes it may have been something I had done without even realizing it. Do you know of any Jedi that was able to time travel?”

Yoda recalled a time when the Darkstaff was in play, but has not been seen for thousands of years. “Once, there was a Sith artifact, but it has been lost. If caused wormhole, you have, then we must be wary. Wormholes are unstable; it may reopen and let something from your time through. We must be vigil.”

Windu nods. “I will check the Holocron of any potential techniques that may exist. If what you say is true, we need to train you to control that power in case something like this happens again.”

* * *

 

Hearing screaming, Jem was out of bed in an instant. Grabbing on of her lightsabers, she rushed down the hallway and forced the clone barrack doors open and turned on the lights. Activating her lightsaber, she ran towards the sound of the screaming. At this point clones had come out of their bunks, blinking sleepily in the lights becoming more alert as they recognized their Commander.

Jem prepared for an attack as she opened the bunk where the screaming originated. Instead of an intruder, she found the clone named Mirto writhing in his bed, sweat pouring all over his body. Quickly deactivating her lightsaber and tossing it aside, she told one of the Lieutenants that was nearby to check for any potential intruders as she sat next to the sleeping trooper and placed a hand on his forehead.

She quickly entered his mind and saw his nightmare. _In his dream he was turning on Kenobi and murdering him in cold blood, and then started killing other Jedi Masters. There was blood, so much blood. He was killing children. He didn’t want to kill kids. His body was acting on its own, gunning down civilians, women, and children. What kind of monster was he?!_ Jem projected herself into his dream, telling him to wake up.

Mirto’s eyes shot open and he was blinded by the bright lights of the barracks shining down on him. He heard soft words around him telling him to take deep breathes and he complied, taking in great lungfuls of air. As his eyes adjusted to the light he saw his brothers watching him and the person beside him, some in awe and some in mild annoyance. It was when he glanced up did he notice Commander Antilles crouched beside him, speaking softly to him, hand still on his forehead. Her eyes were closed, concentrating on sending him peaceful thoughts and sweeping aside the fear and horror that had plagued him earlier.

After he calmed down, Jem opened her eyes, her meditation work done. She got him to sit up and he immediately put his face in his hands, embarrassed that his commanding officer saw him this way.

The lieutenant that Jem had sent returned and reported that there were no intruders in the barracks. Jem thanks him and orders him back to sleep, hinting to the others around them that they should do the same. She stands and calls her lightsaber to her before squatting next to Mitro’s hanging head.

“Do you need anything? A glass of water?”

The clone removed his hands from his face and sat ramrod straight, a hardened expression on his features as his eyes drilled holes into the wall of the barracks. “No, sir. I am perfectly fine. It was just a dream.”

The woman quietly searched his face before smiling softly and standing again. She patted his back. “Good man. Get some rest. I will see you in the morning for roll call.”

He nodded vacantly before laying back down on his bunk. Jem said a general goodnight to her men before switching off the lights and returning to her own quarters, contemplating this new information she had learned from the trooper’s nightmare. It seemed to her that the clone had a vision of his future as a stormtrooper and the fact that he was terrified of his betrayal to the Republic somehow gave her hope. She made a note in her datapad about the incident and went back to sleep.

It was by the third day of nightmares when Jem knew something was up. On the second night she had found three clones in the battalion having the nightmare, and the third day there were two. Each night she ran into the barracks to search for an attacker and found none, and each night she returned to bed after comforting an embarrassed soldier.

The part that stood out was that they all had the same nightmare from their point of view. When Havoc had the nightmare, HE was the one killing Jedi, but when Tyr’o had the dream, it was him. The men weren’t in the same companies, and out of the six, one of them was an officer that wasn’t high enough in command for her to consider removing the inhibitor chip.

The inhibitor chips.

It had to be the chips. The Commandos nor her officers have had the nightmare recently, and if she waited an entire week she had a feeling that they wouldn’t receive the dream. She remembered the Inhibitor Chip theory when she was ascending the ranks in the Rebellion, but she never really believed it was true.

After the fourth day of waking soldiers from their nightmares, she didn’t bother returning to her quarters and just slept on the floor near the door. Whenever there was a disturbance in the force she would wake and find the bunk they were sleeping in, and projecting a peaceful illusion, changing their dream to a calm one to relax them. After her fifth trip down the aisles of sleeping clones, she decided to project a vision to all of them, all the while meditating in her spot by the door. In this vision they were on the golden beaches of Corellia, playing in the powder-like sand and in the reflective surf, like she used to do when she was a child.

When the vision drifted off, she felt no more terror from her men. Worn out from her expended energy, she allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

* * *

 

“Commander!”

The Hybrid’s eyes shot open and she immediately groaned in defiance, wishing she could have five more minutes. Rubbing her eyes, she looked up at her alarm. “What is it, Major?”

Hawk stood staring down at her, helmet in-between his arm, a ghost of a smile on his lips. “It’s time for roll-call, sir.”

“Thank you, Hawk.” Grabbing his offered hand, Jem stood and straightened out the kinks in her back before accepting the clipboard that he handed her. And then they walked the barracks, taking the attendance of her battalion. The Captains conducted the necessary drills before dismissing their companies.

Commander Antilles and Major Hawk performed their daily maintenance checks and Jem also ran some errands for General Kenobi regarding their future battle on Felucia. She informed the Major that only the Commandos would be taking a part in the battle, and he huffed indignantly. She attempted to reassure him, but at this point she was itching for a fight as much as him.

After finishing paperwork, she opted to meditate before ultimately taking a nap. R3 had not yet found a solution to their time travel, but Jem thanked him for his hard work all the same. Jem promised the droid that she would attempt to recover old Jedi texts for viewing later.

She performed more routine checks and soon it was night again. The Commander grabbed a sleeping bag from their storage and unrolled it on the barrack’s floor. Some of the men near her tried to protest her uncomfortable sleeping arrangement, but she waved them off, saying it was her duty to take care of them. When the lights went out and the barracks were succumbed to silence, Jem began her new meditation ritual.

Tonight, she showed a memory of Life Day in Doaba Guerfel. _The festival celebrated the renewal of life, and was also a time to remember those who had died. She showed her men the fireworks, the free treats, the lively music. Colored Life Day orbs floated in the streets, emitting a rainbow of light on the residents of the city. Homes and sellers’ tents were covered in garland and lights. Service droids bore festive paintings on their hulls. She showed her men a memory of a tourist in the city drinking so much ale that he started dancing manically with a service droid during the celebration, the man’s arms and legs flailing around him as if he were some kind of monkey._

She heard the snickers and soft laughter of those who were still awake echoing within the walls.

_The Life Day tree, a wroshyr tree, towered over all in the center square, its branches wrapped in tinsel and baubles. The tree was said to be thousands of years old that was planted at the very beginning of the city’s beginning. In the vision, you look up from the bottom of the tree and stared straight up to the branches above. The trunk seemed infinite that way, the grooves and bumps in the wood making a random pattern. You feel the textured old bark before deciding to climb the gigantic tree. The joyous music starts to diminish as you climb higher into the tree and by the time you’re near the top, it sounds like a distant echo. You can still hear the laughter of the party-goers below as you take in the view. The sky has a pink and orange hue as the sun begins to set, and continue to watch as the city continues their celebration long into the night._

* * *

 

By the third night the Reserve Battalion knew what was going on. In those three days, the entire battalion had not had the nightmare and they started to appreciate their Battalion Commander for her efforts. Overall, the unit’s energy seemed calmer, even General Kenobi sensed it when he made a visit to the Troop Center to check on Cody and Jem’s progress with reports and mission logs.

They performed all drills with more accuracy and confidence and the overall moral was improved, much to Jem’s pleasure.

It became more of a silent ritual. Every night she would grab her sleeping bag and head down the hall to her boys, where she’d be greeted by a chorus of welcomes. She would make her night rounds, saying goodnight to each company before returning to her chosen spot. Some days she would give them a memory, other days she would read a book and the clones would become engulfed the fantasy world through Jem’s imagination. What they were currently reading, and Hawk’s favorite book so far, was “There and Back Again”, an adventure story about a young man that lived a peaceful life before being thrown into the midst of war and chaos.

There would be times throughout the day when she would receive little messages on her datapad requesting specific projections, such as fishing, hiking, and painting. She would smile and catalogue them for later, and that night she would incorporate all the requests into her projection and share her vision with them.

She continued this schedule until Hawk stepped in to request that she “receives more rest”. Jem resigned and started a schedule, where three days she could sleep in the barracks with her battalion, and the other four days she would rest in her quarters.

Sometimes Cody would sit in during the nights she would project. Neither of them tells the General, but they have a feeling he knows what’s going on anyway.


	6. Two birds. No stone. Please don’t kill my birds.

**S3 Ep 21 Padawan Lost**

 

The Battle of Felucia seemed to never end. Neither side had gained nor lost ground, but the Clone tank divisions had started to make a valiant push into Separatist-controlled territory that was led by General Skywalker and Commander Tano. General Kenobi had dispatched Commander Antilles and her Clone Commando group to aid General Ploon and Skywalker.

As she arrived with her squad, she heard General Ploon suggest a separation into three groups to divide the Separatist defenses. He acknowledges Jem as he continues, “I’ll take the left flank. Skywalker, attack the front gate. Ahsoka, you scale the back wall with Commander Antilles. We’ll meet in the middle.”

Skywalker nods and starts spewing orders to the scouts. Commander Tano gestures for the other Commander and her squad to follow her, and they meet up with the rest of the battalion, which consisted of members in the 104th. The clones oohed and awed at the Commando group, much to their amusement, and Jem had to give them a look to keep them from outright laughing.

Then, their attack began.

The 104th and Commando group followed the two Commanders around the winding columns, doing their best to keep their armor from clanking too loudly against the eerie silence of the forest. Jem glances at Ahsoka and she nods, signaling that she also felt an unknown presence near them. Ahsoka held up her hand to stop the clones, listening intently for any foreign sounds while Jem searched through the fog that was settling over them. After finding nothing, Ahsoka tells the company to continue and Jem nods.

She looks back towards the troops. “Stay alert, boys. Let’s move.” Corporal Comet nods and relays the message.

A message comes in over the comlinks from General Koon. “Skywalker, Ahsoka, are you in position?” At the sound, Commander Tano picks up her pace and the rest of the group follows her lead. When they reach the towering wall, Jem spotted two outlook posts and motioned to Ahsoka to let her know of their positions. She nodded and replied to the General while the clones set up for their ambush. Jem continued to keep a lookout for the unknown presence still lingering.

“We’re in position.”

The tank divisions opened fire on the droid defenses, alerting them to start the ambush. Two clones took out the droids keeping guard of the back gate. The two Commanders rushed to the wall.

“Comet, Sinker, Boost, get up there,” Ahsoka commanded over the sounds of blaster fire. The Commander activated her lightsabers and took guard as Jem and the rest of the troops scaled the wall.

As Jem reached the top she felt the presence grow stronger and looked down. An electric net had caught the Togruta Commander and the girl screamed. Jem watched as three Trandoshans appeared from the fog, laughing.

Two clones yelled as Jem told them to continue and detached herself from the wall, plunging towards the ground below.

The Trandoshans had almost dragged the Jedi Padawan to their ship before a blaster shot was heard and one of the kidnappers fell to the ground, dead. The other two spun around, snarling as Jem sprinted toward them, determined to get the other Commander back. The Trandoshan dragging Ahsoka ran with their package as the other one began firing at Jem. She dodges the blasts and tries to swerve around to pass him, but is inevitably stopped when an arm comes out and throws her against a tree. Knowing that she wouldn’t be able to take on a species twice the size of her, she takes to the trees and disappears into the mist. She searches for Ahsoka’s presence but to her dismay watches an unknown ship take off in the distance, with Ahsoka on it. She looks down to find the Trandoshan aiming at her from the base of the tree, and hurdles herself off the branch as the blast obliterates the entire tree. Scrambling, she avoids more attacks and makes for the wall. She hears Tumm yelling for her as she approaches, but a sharp pain in her left arm knocks her off-course. Her yelp notifies her Captain of her whereabouts. She hears Tumm request backup, and her Commando group descends from the wall to aid her.

As she spins around to defend herself, an audio link comes in from Skywalker. “Ahsoka, state your location. Ahsoka, come in. Are you there? Ahsoka?!” Jem snarls as the hissing Trandoshan strides toward her. As a last resort, she uses the Force to lift a pebble, stopping her attacker.

Once seeing how small the rock was, he cackles at her. “You think a puny little rock like that will stop me? I hunt people like you for fun.”

Jem’s face shows no emotion as she begins spinning the stone in her right hand at ferocious speeds. “You’ve never met anyone like me.”

It was over in an instant. The evil grin on the Trandoshan vanishes as the force-wielder hurls the stone through his neck and it embeds in a tree a few meters behind him.

The Commando clones surround their leader to shield her, and they watch as the assailant stands in shock before crumpling to the ground, blood gushing from the wound in his neck. Jem gently brushes past Chuxx to pick up her blaster from where she had dropped it in the fight and approaches the Trandoshan who was gasping for breath. The clones watch uneasily as their Commander crouches (too close for their liking) to whisper something to her enemy, who answers with a hiss. Standing, her face remains expressionless as she aims her blaster at the Trandoshan’s neck and fires, mercifully killing him and covering her Force attack. The Commander gazes down at the body for a moment, before holstering her blaster and trudging back to her troops. She looks at all four of them solemnly before nodding towards the outpost in a silent command. The Green Squad take one last look at the body before following her towards the wall.

The sun was rising when they spot Captain Rex. His helmet is off and looks exhausted, but brightens when the Commander and Green Squad approach. When Jem asks why he is out here, he replies that the entire company has been searching for her and Commander Tano all night. After he finishes his report, a comm from Skywalker comes in. “Call everybody in Rex, we’re leaving. Has anyone found any signs of the Commanders?”

The Captain raises his arm to speak into his comlink. “Sir, we have found Commander Antilles. Still no sign of Commander Tano.” Rex signals off and turns back towards Jem. “It’s time to go.” The two walk side-by-side with her squad just behind them. Rex frowns at her injured arm. “Are you okay, Fox? That wound doesn’t look too good. What happened tonight?”

Jem sighs and looks down at the arm. “I will heal my arm later, it was just blaster fire. Ahsoka and I had felt a presence with us the entire night and I kept a look out for it. Ahsoka was covering our flank when we scaled the back wall when I felt it again, but a few Trandoshans already had her. I killed two but the other got away with her. I don’t know where she has gone, but she’s not on Felucia anymore.” Rex nods and Jem glances back at him and asks, “what about you, how are the rest of your men?”

“We’re all fine. The operation on our end went smoothly. General Skywalker is worried about Commander Tano.”

The Corellian nods, lost in thought. The two continue towards the gunship waiting for them before Jem turns to the Captain and places both hands on his shoulders, ignoring the pain of her left arm. “I need you to listen to me. Keep an eye on the General. Let me know if he starts acting different or does anything dangerous. Keep this between us.”

Curious, the Clone Captain accepts his orders and boards the gunship. As he turns back around, he catches her eyes and sees a hint of fear in them as she and her squad head towards their own ship. When General Skywalker questions him about Commander Antilles, he relays the information she had told him about Ahsoka. He leaves out the orders that Antilles had left him with.

He does not see the Commander until they arrive on Coruscant. He sees her head towards the Clone Barracks, chatting happily with Ghost and he calls to her. She excuses herself and makes her way towards him, her grin bright enough to light a room. “What’s up, Rex? The boys were telling me a great story about coloring Aspect’s hair pink!”

A message from General Skywalker comes in through Rex’s comlink. “Rex, get to the platform! They found Ahsoka!”

The two stare at each other before promptly leaving towards the landing docks. A small crowd had gathered around a gunship as the two join General Skywalker and General Koon at the entrance. Even though Jem knows that Ahsoka survives past the Siege of Mandalore and goes on to teach her, she still searches frantically for her Rebel friend. The sephi finally spots Ahsoka, although dirty, perfectly fine and talking to a Wookie. Relief flooded her chest as Anakin shouts to his Padawan and starts running towards her, with General Koon, Jem, and Rex not far behind.

Hearing Skywalker yelling for her, she ends her conversation and turns towards her approaching Master. Knowing that Ahsoka was safe, Jem veers off to find Chewbacca, the Wookie that the Padawan was speaking to. Obviously, she knew the Wookie as the one who ventured with Han Solo, and although they didn’t cross paths often, they have been known to play a game of Corellian Spike. Jem catches up to the Wookie and he turns towards her. They share a moment of silence before she reaches a hand into her pocket and gives him a pair of gold chance cubes, and he accepts the gift. He searches her face, but he doesn’t recognize her. The woman smiles and backs away before turning and heading back towards the other Jedi. The Wookie watches her go and then boards the ship with his own General and they return to Kashyyyk.

Yoda watches Skywalker and his Padawan contently, glad to see the young Togruta back at the temple. Commander Antilles appears beside him, arms behind her back, a calm smile on her face. They watch the duo retreat side-by-side into the temple before he speaks. “Seen him this scared before, I have not. His fear grows every day.”


	7. The sun can fuck right off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tbh I wasn't a fan of this series of episodes and thought it was kinda boring  
> so this is a shorty

**S4 Ep 1-3 “Water War”, “Gungan Attack”, “Prisoners”**

 

The General Skywalker, General Fisto, Senator Amidala, and Commander Tano were away on Man Cala to aid the Mon Calamari against a surprise Separatist attack. However, the Separatist Senator Riff Tamson have quickly overwhelmed the Republic forces and Prince Lee-Char was forced to hide in caves below the city.

Jem was on the bridge with Kenobi when the transmission came in for the Jedi General. She watched as the Jedi Council attempted to plan an attack, realizing that it would take a few days to find another underwater clone regiment. It was Yoda who stepped up and suggested that they should look elsewhere for an army.

“What do you suggest?” Master Windu questioned, looking down at his companion.

Jem nudged Obi-Wan with the force and he turned away from the console to regard her.

“Sir, where is the closest underwater race that already has an army and would be willing to help?”

Obi-Wan considered her question and stated the answer to the council. “Naboo.” Yoda approves, stating that the Gungans would be their best chance in aiding Prince Lee-Char.

As the Generals continue their discussion, Jem receives a mission for the Green Squad. The Republic requires intel for the capital city of Umbara so they can plan an attack. The Commander steps away from the console to hail Captain Tumm and relay their new mission. She gives him 72 hours and to get as much information as they can, including a layout of the city. Tumm nods once.

“Be careful out there, friend. This is a dangerous place you’ll be setting foot in.”

Tumm lets out a breathy laugh. “When isn’t it?”

The two end their conversation as Obi-Wan approaches. “We need that intel, Captain. We’re counting on you.”

Tumm salutes the General, and with a “yes, sir” the transmission ends. As Obi-Wan goes over their plan of attack for their next battle, Jem prays that her squad stay safe. There is Darkness on Umbara, and loyalties and trust will be tested.


	8. Hey guys I'm really trying

**S4 Ep 7 "Darkness on Umbara"**

 

In her civilian attire, Jem anxiously waited on the troop center hangar for her squad to return. Their 72 hours were up and they had successfully retrieved data for their upcoming attack. The Umbarans had aligned themselves with the Separatists and were heavily armed. Her reserve was finally going to see some action, and were going to be to the south behind the 212th and the 501st. The boys have been waiting for this moment for literally their whole life, and her entire battalion had painted their armor with the signature orange of the Sky Corps.

Her battalion had surprised her the other day when she was making the rounds with Jet and Lyr, and she had bent to pick something up and noticed a small green fox head, about the length of a thumb, painted on the side of a random helmet. She had looked to her Captains, confused, and found that they, too, had foxes painted on their armor: Jet on his right gauntlet and Lyr on his left knuckle plate. She had asked what this was, and the two glanced sheepishly at each other before Lyr answered.

“They are foxes, sir. The whole battalion has one on their armor since we couldn’t paint the gunships.”

Jem straightened and wildly searched the rest of the stacked armor and spotted the insignia on chest plates, gauntlets, helmets… all the while listening to Jet explaining their actions.

“The men are grateful for what you had done for us, sir. The nightmares are becoming less frequent. We wanted a way to thank you for what you’ve done and we are proud to be serving you in our first battle.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The men…her men… were loyal to her. Trusted her. All thoughts about Order 66 and the Rise of the Empire seemed to melt away and she gaped at her captains.

The Corellian clears her throat and faces away from them and continues her inspection, fighting back joyful tears. “Hm, well, that’s fine. We need to finish maintenance checks so you can get to dinner.” Her voice cracks and the captains hear it. They share a knowing smile when her back is turned. She’s not fooling anyone.

“Commander Fox!”

The Commander looks up from her clipboard, surprised at the nickname. Her two companions freeze. One of the clones in the Storm company, she remembers his name is Em, running towards her. The man with peach-fuzz for hair seemed to realize his mistake as shock spreads across his features.

He slows as the Captains round on him. “It is ‘Commander Antilles’ or ‘sir’ to you, Trooper! Do not disrespect your commanding officer like that again.”

“No, no, it’s fine.”

The three clones look stunned as they turn their brown eyes toward their leader. She beams and waves her clipboard at them to disregard the rebuke. “I actually kind of like it. We should use it more often.”

“But sir—”

“It’s okay, Jet! You all carry a little part of me on your armor. It feels right that I carry a little part of you.” Lyr shakes his head, exasperated, as Em looks at his Commander in awe. She continues, “anyways, Em, what do you have for me?”

The trooper shakes out of his reverie and relays his message. “Green Squad will be here in the hour, sir.”

Jem nods approvingly at him. “Good. Let General Kenobi and General Skywalker know that the Commandos are on their way with the plans.”

Em saluted, and with a “yes, sir”, and Jem stops him.

“It’s ‘Commander Fox’ to you, Trooper,” she salutes with a smirk. Em has a sheepish smile before saluting back and leaving for the nearest console to begin the transmission.

Jet turns to her. “Permission to speak freely, sir.”

“Go ahead.”

“I think it’s a bad idea to allow the men to call you by a nickname. It’s too informal and it may cause some to lose respect or question orders.”

Jem places a hand on the man’s arm. “You worry too much, Captain. I’m sure everything will be perfectly fine,” she assured him. Jet let out a defeated sigh and resigned his argument. She playfully patted his arm before going back to her clipboard. “Now, let’s finish this shipment so we can be done for the day.”

And here she was, hands clasped behind her back, waiting for the Green Squad to return to Headquarters. At the sight of their gunship she waves and the ship cruises to a halt a few meters in front of her. The door slides open and her team hops out, worn and wearing new scratches on their armor, but alive. The four remove their helmets and meet her.

She greets them with a grin. “How was Umbara, boys? Did you get to try their delicious cuisine?”

“Unfortunately, the Shadow People couldn’t show us their famous Umbaran hospitality,” Ghost quipped.

Tumm chuckled. “Yeah, but we did help ourselves to some of their nice technology,” he said, pulling out a small slab of Doonium and an information disk from his pack.

Jem breathed a silent “wow” as she was handed the metal piece. The Death Star was made from this material, and she was holding it. If she could learn of its properties she could find a way to destroy that kriffing base.

“Thank you. I’ll get these to General Kenobi immediately. The battalion will be sent out with the rest of the Sky Corps tomorrow. Go get cleaned up and take a few days off. Please have the report sent to me by tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, sir!”

“I will be in the barracks tonight so let me know if you need anything then.”

“You are too good to us, Commander,” Alarm stated, picking up his pack and helmet from the ground. His Commander patted him on the back in response and waved goodbye to him and his brothers, walking towards one of the airspeeders. Smiling softly, Alarm retreats into the Headquarters with his squad.

* * *

 

 

A day later Jem finds herself in an empty council room with Windu and Kenobi discussing infiltration plans, when the topic of her concealment arose.

“We cannot let anyone know who you are—we need to disguise you as much as possible,” Windu explains, “you are a very valuable asset, which is why Yoda wanted to ground you. But we need as many bodies as we can get for this battle.”

Jem soberly nods, contemplating.

Kenobi suggests wearing a hood to conceal her face. “It would cover all of our bases: hair and face.”

“The only problem is I can’t see the periphery if I wear the hood all the way down,” Jem states, “I’ve tried it before. I will most likely need to wear some type of mask. There were some Imperial troopers, called Death Troopers,” she shudders at the thought of them, “who wore specialized helmets with vocal scramblers.”

She shook her head to clear away chilling memories. “Their gear is very advanced and made an imposing presence when you saw them.”

Obi-Wan took in the shut-off appearance of his Commander. “Do you think you could replicate the mask?

Confidentially nodding, she added, “we can combine the hood with the mask. If I wear the full mask I won’t be able to see very well. If I use both the vocal scrambler mask and the hood, it should fully hide my appearance. My battle robes should be fine since my armor is reinforced with cortosis.”

With her disguise out of the way, they continued speaking about the upcoming Siege of Umbara.

“We need to launch a lightning strike if we are going to get through the blockade that’s going to be there when we arrive in the Expansion Region.”

Windu agrees with Jem. “These supply routes are vital for the Republic, and since the Umbarans withdrew after the death of Senator Deechi, we are going to have to retake the system by force.” He turned to the Commander. “You have a few hours before the 212th ships out. Be ready.”

Jem salutes before turning on her heel and heads for Supplies in search of parts.

* * *

 

“Masters Krell and Tiin will be supporting my troops in the south while Anakin’s battalion comes in from the north and takes out enemy reinforcements,” General Kenobi explains, pointing to the various access points on the hologram. “It is imperative that we conquer the capital city as quickly as possible and hold it.”

“Our biggest problem is gonna be the local militia,” Skywalker explains, “the Umbarans have aligned themselves with the Separatists and are heavily armed.”

“Remember, Anakin, that Cody and I will be 12 clicks to your south. We’re counting on you to take out those local fighters, or, I’m afraid, the capital will never surrender.”

Dramatically sighing, Anakin exclaims “does my battalion have to do everything?” He crosses his arms, smirking.

Kenobi playfully replies. “You seem to always volunteer.”

“…woah.” Cody’s comment broke the squabbling, and the group turned to look. Jem had entered the hanger fully decked out in her armor, hood up and mask on. 

The only thing you could see of her face was her thousand-yard stare which did not deviate from her projected course. Mechanics scurried out of her way in fear. Her powerful stride and imposing appearance stopped troopers and Jedi in their tracks to watch her for any signs of a threat as she boarded the carrier ship in one bound.

As she approached the ship, Anakin nudged Obi-Wan. “Isn’t that your adviser?”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “No, that’s my back-up.”

* * *

 

It was dark, and people were dying. That’s all Jem could see as she and her battalion covered the rest of the 212th as they took the Capital. The only light came from when a blaster was fired, or when one of the Republic ships was blown up over their heads.

She could feel the life force of hundreds of clones die out by the second. This was nothing like the Civil War.

An air strike was called in by Captain Rex, his voice crackling over the comms. It sounded like they were ambushed and surrounded by the Umbaran militia. A few bomber planes break and head north by the order of General Krell. Soon after, Jem could see a string of explosions happening across from her position, signaling that the bombing was successful.

A few more sandbanks were covered and more dead troopers were left where they fell before she heard from command again.

“Commander, we just got word that General Skywalker was ordered to return to Coruscant. General Krell will be taking over the 501st Legion.”

 _Shit._ “[[ ** _Thanks, Evo. Fall back with your company_** ]],” Jem commands, and the Corporal salutes before retreating.

She tugged her mask down to start an audio call with her General.

“General, I just got word that General Skywalker was removed from battle and General Krell took charge.”

“So I have heard. Is something wrong?”

The Commander dodged some blaster fire and blindly shot into the thick fog before answering. “I just feel that we should give Captain Rex some aide.”

The line is silent for a moment as she awaits his reply.

“Is this a request or advice?” He asked, hinting at the conversation they had eons ago.

She knew Captain Rex could probably handle Krell for a little while, but minimizing the causalities was her priority. “A little of both, sir.”

Some blaster fire was heard before Obi-Wan spoke again. “I’m sorry, Jem, but I need you here to watch our backs. Reroute one of your companies if it makes you feel better.”

The Commander wipes a gloved hand over her face and looks up to the sky, weighing her two options. She could send a company over to aid Rex, but risk losing the entire company, or she could keep her battalion together but the 501st legion would be almost decimated at the end of the seige. Although it was selfish, she wanted to keep her men with her. _But this was what they were born to do_ , she thought bitterly. _They were meant to die._

She hated these positions. Either way, she felt she was making the wrong choice. She presses her audio link connected with her troops. “All units, keep pushing forward.” There’s an acknowledgement from Kenobi and the line goes dead.

She called for Major Hawk over the blaster fire surrounding her. He sprints towards her from his position, ducking and swerving to avoid getting shot along the way. He slammed against the sand bank next to her and awaits orders.

“Hawk, I want you to take over while I aid the 501st Legion! Skywalker had to leave for Coruscant so they left General Krell in charge,” she yells to keep her voice heard. “Hawk, I’m going to go help Captain Rex.”

“Sir, that’s against direct orders! I must strongly advise against your actions!”

A cannon blast lands near them, the blast wave knocking down trees and men, and showering the two with sand and dirt. The Commander wipes the dirt from her eyes and grasps Hawk’s gauntlet to get his attention, fixing him with a determined expression. “Major, I’m doing what feels right. Why send our men when I am the one that needs to go? Stay safe.” With a snap of her mask back into place, she vaulted over the sandbank and broke rank, sprinting towards the north side of the Umbaran capital, ignoring the pleads from Hawk and disappearing into the mist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my writing style has vastly changed, probably because I'm used to writing lab reports now instead of just having a good ol' time.


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